Mario Draghi, president of the European Central Bank, told a press conference following the meeting of the ECB Governing Council in Frankfurt this afternoon that “the euro is irreversible”. Asked by the media what he meant by that he exclaimed to much laughter “It stays, it stays, it stays. It’s pointless to bet against the euro, it’s pointless to go short on the euro.” From the beginning of the press conference to the end the € fell 200 pips against the $, so he was proved factually incorrect before he even finished speaking.

At the end of the press conference Spanish yields were back over 7%, capital flowed into German bunds as a safe haven, trading in Italian bank stocks was halted, the euro had pointedly rewarded those who were short and bet against it, costing the ECB a lot of credibility. Spain has now been told it will, like Greece, have to formally ask for a bailout on austere German terms. The can has been kicked down the road again, the end of the road however is in sight…